20/07/2023
NEWS STORY
"That's how Red Bull works," says seven-time world champion following the mid-season sacking of Nyck de Vries.
Despite the ongoing criticism from Chrstian Horner and Helmut Marko, fellow drivers arriving in Hungary have given their support to Nyck de Vries who was fired last week by AlphaTauri.
Of course, Red Bull and AlphaTauri have a long history of hiring and firing, moving their drivers around as though they are interchangeable.
Among those to leap to the defence of the F2 and Formula E champion was Lewis Hamilton, who is clearly not a fan of the Red Bull dumping programme.
"I was definitely surprised to see the decision they took with poor Nyck," Hamilton told reporters in Hungary, the Mercedes driver having previously worked with the Dutch youngster.
"He's such a talented young man and such a nice guy as well," he said. "I think his future is still bright for him and he'll have lots of great options, I'm sure."
Last weekend, Sebastian Vettel described de Vries' sacking as "brutal", asked if he agreed, Hamilton said: "I'd say that's how Red Bull works."
The Briton also voiced concern at claims doing the rounds in the Hungaroring paddock that two teams broke the budget cap last season.
"It's definitely a concern," he said. "There wasn't really a big punishment last time so there's no real... there will be people that probably go for it again and know they are just going to get a slap on the wrist."
Last year saw Red Bull fined $7m for breaking the 2021 cap, and while the Austrian team was also hit with a 10% reduction in windtunnel time it doesn't appear to have dented their competitiveness.
"There were breaches last year and clearly the punishment didn't fit the crime," added Mercedes teammate George Russell. "We don't want to be seeing that happen again and if it's a second time offender the punishment should be even greater than what perhaps is a fair punishment."
Despite the outcry over the FIA's leniency last year, Russell insists that he still has faith in the sport's governing body. "They won't be letting anybody get away with something that shouldn't have happened under their watch," he said.
Check out our Thursday gallery from the Hungaroring here.